A Dog's Will (2000)

Great Film overall

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It's a fantastic movie. Really amazing. I laugh all the time during this movie and I consider it one of the best Brazilian comedies ever, by far. It's a must see movie!Now, if you're not Brazilian and want to watch this movie first you have to know: - It's not just a screwball comedy, it's much more than that. If you never read or heard about Shakespeare before watching an adaptation of one of his plays you would think that of some of his great works as well. It's much the same thing here, it's based on a play by Ariano Suassuana.The religious part is not, I repeat, not just pure mockery. And it's supposed to be taken seriously as an offense. It is simply something that we often see in the cordel literature because the Northeast Brazilians in general are Catholics and this is a way of expressing their faith. And yes, there is comedy in the middle of the religious display, because it is essentially a comedy.It is - as any other movie that, of course, is not based on real facts - something made up on the sole purpose of amusing people so please enjoy it.

Before watching it, get this straight ! 1- This movie is an adaptation from a original play and smaller works from the same author (1955).2- This is not how Brazil is today in the country side but how it was at the beginning of the 20 century (circa 1920). Sort of Brazilian Wild West (in our case Wild East).3- This was a TV series much longer and was reduced to almost 1/3 of its original size for the theaters and DVD due to the great viewers ratings of the TV series.4- Much of the jokes and characters are local to the region shown in the movie: Sertão Brasileiro.5- To understanding the movie you should really know Brazilian Portuguese, some local accents related to the plot and the colloquial words used make it very tricky to translate, and in many cases, impossible. I watched also with English subtitles, and believe me: most of the jokes are gone.6- There is no parallels between this movie and "Cidade de Deus" (City of God). You can argue about the technical aspects of them but for me, is like comparing "much ado about nothing" (from Shakespeare) and American Pie. To really appreciate "much ado..." you you must master the English Victorian world completely (of course... its out of my league. Eng. is not my first !). Or like old Italian comedies from the 60 and 70 where many joke relay on gestures that a foreign just cant understand.7- And about the religious ending, its a joke inside the joke. And of course, if you cut a work that takes 3 1/2 hours to just 90 minutes and thinks that its the same thing....for example, for a native Brazilian, its just hilarious to see a black Jesus, a Zelot Devil and organized one following rules by the book.In the other hand, you could compare this movie to DOGMA (Kevin Smith). And its way better than DOGMA.Thats all folks...And of course... I'm a Brazilian.

I must confess, I think O Auto da Compadecida is the only Brazilian movie I have seen. Nevertheless, I certainly hope this isn't the best the country has to offer. What you have here is a religious screwball comedy, and unfortunately, neither side of that equation works.As a screwball comedy, the movie is based simply on the characters shouting a lot and acting like complete idiots. That is supposed to create comedy, but there is nothing funny about the characters' complete turnovers on the weakest possible motivations. Some of the plot line is good, like the early introduction of the bandits, but most of it is just a detached mess to make the characters run all over their village with little reason.The religious part is even worse. The movie is firmly based on the Catholic interpretation of the Christian faith, including some of its more dubious folklore. When it comes to religion, the characters of the movie are at their most gullible, showing no sign of intellect at all. The bigger problem is that it's completely impossible to tell if the religious aspect of the movie should be taken seriously or as a mockery of the common beliefs. The second part of the movie is the worst offender here. It presents a surprising and somewhat imaginative plot twist based on the Catholic mythology. Unfortunately, the drawn-out scene drones on, ultimately becoming much too serious and overly long to keep the viewer's interest.The movie is not completely worthless, but its high points are much too few for a 100-minute movie. I shudder to think of the longer TV version. Many of those minutes are used to strech the movie by dull bickering and shouting, making the viewer again and again wish that the story would move on. On all accounts, O Auto da Compadecida is a severely underwhelming movie, even despite its flashy presentation and supposedly snappy script. As a short film of 30 minutes with a lot more editing, it might have worked, but not as a full-length film.

It is amazing how, from the very beginning of this movie, you notice the influence that Terry Gilliam has had on this Brazilian director. The movie has the twists and craziness you would expect of "Adventures of Baron Munchausen", but from the third world, portraying incredible well the way people try to survive where there is not much for them anyway. "O Auto da Compadecida" is definitely a very good movie, with talented actors and unexpected plot. Must-see.